This article is part of our NASCAR Barometer series.
Martin Truex Jr. captured his third win of the season in Saturday night's Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway. The Furniture Row Racing driver came to the front in the first stage of the race, and extended his domination of the event from there on. Kyle Busch was the only other car in the same zip code as Truex, but he did not have the same pace. Truex eased away as the miles ticked down, and only faced serious questions when one final caution period occurred just before the white flag. He mastered the resulting overtime restart en route to a thoroughly dominating victory.
Truex is in very good shape for the playoffs. He has accumulated more playoff points than any other driver in the series, but he'll still need to come out on top in Miami. Only eight races remain until the playoffs commence, and it would take a serious turn in results to see Truex losing his edge in that time.
UPGRADE
Martin Truex Jr. – His win Saturday means he's still the only Toyota driver to have won this season, and he held off Busch and Kyle Larson to get the job done. Truex has not finished outside of the top 20 at New Hampshire, the site of the next race Sunday, since the spring of 2010, and is likely to continue his domination. Fantasy players will salivate over the fact that he led more than 100 laps in each of the races there last season, too.
Martin Truex Jr. captured his third win of the season in Saturday night's Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway. The Furniture Row Racing driver came to the front in the first stage of the race, and extended his domination of the event from there on. Kyle Busch was the only other car in the same zip code as Truex, but he did not have the same pace. Truex eased away as the miles ticked down, and only faced serious questions when one final caution period occurred just before the white flag. He mastered the resulting overtime restart en route to a thoroughly dominating victory.
Truex is in very good shape for the playoffs. He has accumulated more playoff points than any other driver in the series, but he'll still need to come out on top in Miami. Only eight races remain until the playoffs commence, and it would take a serious turn in results to see Truex losing his edge in that time.
UPGRADE
Martin Truex Jr. – His win Saturday means he's still the only Toyota driver to have won this season, and he held off Busch and Kyle Larson to get the job done. Truex has not finished outside of the top 20 at New Hampshire, the site of the next race Sunday, since the spring of 2010, and is likely to continue his domination. Fantasy players will salivate over the fact that he led more than 100 laps in each of the races there last season, too.
Kyle Busch – Busch led a lot Saturday, but it just wasn't enough on a night where Truex dominated. The fact that he led 112 laps confirmed that he had a car that'd come out on top in most races. Busch did, however, take away the win in the XFINITY Series race earlier in the day, but he heads to New Hampshire still searching for his first Cup victory of the season. He finished eighth and third in the two New Hampshire races last season, but led 133 laps in the spring race before losing out to teammate Matt Kenseth. Fantasy owners should expect him to be competitive again Sunday.
Kyle Larson – Larson was forced to come from the back of the field twice in Kentucky. First, the team failed to pass qualifying inspection, which forced him to miss the session and start at the rear. Secondly, after charging into the top five in the first stage of the race, he was caught speeding on pit road and had to start at the rear of the field for stage 2. Those setbacks didn't matter, though, as he still persevered to finish the race in second position after passing Busch in an overtime restart. Larson's average New Hampshire finish from six tries is 13.3 with three top-10 results, including a second-place finish in 2014.
Chase Elliott – Elliott put together a confident, if not quiet, night in Kentucky to secure his sixth top-five finish of the season. The driver gained a few spots in the overtime restart and raced like a veteran to hold a spot in the top 10 throughout the evening. He is now building momentum with two top-fives in the last four races and four top-10s in the last five. Elliott has his sights set on one of the six remaining playoff spots for non-winners and is currently second to only Kyle Busch. He started both New Hampshire races in the top 10 last season, but only managed a best finish of 13th. Fantasy owners should anticipate that he will better that finish this week, though.
Erik Jones – While Jones' teammate was streaking away to the win Saturday night, he was busy adding another top-10 finish to his 2017 resume. His Kentucky effort was another mature performance that netted him his fifth top-10 of his rookie season. Those stats are impressive considering this is a new team with a rookie driver. Jones currently sits just outside playoff contention, so qualification for the championship rounds could be a reality. Jones finished second in his only New Hampshire start in the XFINITY Series, and fantasy owners should pay attention to his early speed in practice this week before deciding to play him.
DOWNGRADE
Brad Keselowski – Keselowski spun on the first lap of the second segment Saturday, and he ended up making contact with other cars and the outside wall. He said he was in a bad position heading into the corner and lost aerodynamic grip that pulled him around, collecting multiple others in his crash. The damage was too much for the team to overcome, leading to an early exit. Keselowski has won once at New Hampshire, and he finished fourth in the fall race last season. Interestingly enough, he has led at least one lap in all but three of his 15 starts at the track, but given his current slump, he makes for a tough recommendation Sunday.
Jimmie Johnson – Johnson was an innocent bystander in the accident that took him out of contention Saturday night. He was collected when Keselowski spun, sustaining significant damage that was enough to force him out of the race. Johnson can rest easy, though, knowing he is safely in the playoffs with plenty of time to overcome his recent bad luck. He'll visit New Hampshire on Sunday, where he has three career victories, too. He finished 12th and eighth there in two races last season and has three top-10 finishes in his last five appearances. He only led one lap in that span, though, which could be enough to give fantasy owners pause this weekend.
Kasey Kahne – Kahne's woes continued to beat down his season in Kentucky. The driver has not had a good season to date, and is more than 100 points out of playoff contention with just three top-10 finishes in 18 starts. He has rarely been racing for wins this year, ended Saturday night with contact and finished 38th. Serious questions are being asked about Kahne's employment with Hendrick Motorsports, and he could end up without a ride next season if he doesn't start producing. New Hampshire has been a decent venue for him, though, as he scored two top-10s in the last three races at the track and won in 2012. A top-10 finish Sunday would be a very welcome result.
Kurt Busch – Busch's race Saturday ended in smoke with the checkered flag nearly in sight. The driver suffered a rare engine failure just as the leaders were approaching the white flag. Because of the mishap, Busch collected his second consecutive finish outside of the top 20. The poor recent finishes ended a brief return to form for the former champion, and now he'll have some work to do to get make to the playoffs. New Hampshire may be a good barometer of his ability to do that — he has three wins at the track, and finished fifth there last fall. Fantasy owners should wait to see practice and qualifying times before rolling with him.
BIGGEST SURPRISE
Darrell Wallace Jr. – Two weeks ago, before taking the green flag at Daytona, Richard Petty said he would consider a top-15 finish a good night for Wallace. The young driver delivered a 15th-place run, then backed it up with an 11th-place finish in Kentucky. Those were tremendous results for a driver who just recently lost his XFINITY ride and had never raced in the Cup series. Wallace doesn't know what his race plans are at the moment, but his efforts with Petty should be enough to earn him a shot at the Cup series in the very near future.
